Flying Humvees and Flight Simulators From the Air Force Expo

Every year the Air Force Association hosts a conference that looks like just another trade show—except with uniformed personnel in attendance and weaponry on display. This week's 2012 AFA Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition happened in the shadow of the presidential election and looming defense cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act if Congress can't reach a spending deal. But even during a budget crunch, the expo had some interesting hardware on display.

T-100 Flight Simulator

T-100 Flight Simulator

There are always cool fight simulators on display at AFA; these things pay for themselves in fuel alone. The T-100 simulator isn't being shown in D.C. to sell simulators, though. Alenia Aeronautica wants to sell T-100 airplanes to replace the U.S. Air Force's current fleet of aging T-38 Advanced Jet Trainers. That replacement will happen in 2020.

Brimstone Dual Mode Missiles

Brimstone Dual Mode Missiles

This trio of MBDA Corp. missiles catches the eye with seeker heads that gleam like fishing lures. But the clear domes are not just for looks: These close air support missiles have a semiactive laser guidance that requires a transparent dome. That's how the precision missile gets close to its target; the final attack is guided by millimeter wave radar. This second mode can guide the missile to moving vehicles, including boats, tanks, and light vehicles.

The missile looks like the Hellfires that American helicopters carry, but its fuselage is stiff. The company built these for jet fighters, so the missile casing needs to handle high-G turns. At the show, a company spokesman showed us test footage of a Zodiac boat being obliterated, and unreleased combat footage from Libya that showed British Tornado pilots firing about 200 dual-mode Brimstones and taking out Gaddafi tanks.